in just a short time from now, president trump will told a press conference to announce what the white house has teased. sources tell cnn this announcement is expected to be emergency use authorization however, the press conference comes at a series of surreal headlines this week jent. >> without received, so that they can delay them until after the election.

a excrete recording if his sister, and an asteroid expected to pass by earth on the day before the election. that about sums up 2020 for you, doesn't it? jeremy, what more can you tell us? >>ed fda has thorrize. this has been about 70,000 patients. it appears this issage effective

treatment. >> reporter: the timing of this is interesting, of course. just yesterday the president was accused the fda of political motivations listen to house the white house chief of staff mark meadows addressed those comments today -- i'm sorry. i don't think we have in a sound. or whether it was something -- a conclusion they arrived at on their own. >> we will play that sound in a moment, but while you have you, jeremy, the president doubled down on attacks again mail-in

voting what more can you tell us about this baseless claim. ? if they stand in line, which is one of the ways they could spread. because of the threat of this pandemic. also claiming there's an ease elects security risks. it's notable because the president has made a series of claims, suggesting there's been widespread fraud.

so the president certainly seems to be setting things up for an excuse, an explanation. >> jeremy diamond at the white house, thanks. with us dr. jonathan riemer. professor of medicines at george washington unity. the the plasma is what's left behind from the blood. it contains various proteins, clogging factors, and antibodies. the convalescent plasma has been used in the past for diseases

like sars in 2003 it's been used widely through as expanded access program via the nih, administered by the mayo clinic. almost 100,000 patients very received it, but not in a randomized way. when they loose at the in the plasma, the people who did best

were those that got a most powerful plasma, so to speak, plasma with the highest amount of neutralizing ant bodities. it's suggestive, but because there's no randomized arm to placebo, we don't know the magnitude of the benefit. there having tens of thousands treated with this. the fact we don't have as ram donized trial to show the role of this agent in this illness is

really unacceptable. as recently as four days ago, the fda stated that it has not been proven this therapy is both safe and effective. >> the president was upset last week, accusing officials of playing politics over the eua of convalescent plasma. this comes the day after the president accused 89 fda of being part of the deep state and delaying trials. >> what happens is we continue to look at some of the trials

and what's whap, we want to wear a belt and suspenders the way some of the buickreaucrats. the president is about cutting red tape. i think you'll hear an announcement that they felt the heat. if they don't see the light, they need to feel the heat. >> what's your reaction? i'll remind you this spring the they've been contaminated by the tachbt for this. we can't have that going forward.

we especially need that as we move toward the approval of a vaccine. so this partisan arm twisting is apparent on the eve of the republican national convention. so it's unfortunate, but, you know, ultimately the voice of scientists should be listened to by the public. how big is that risk, really? >> i don't think it's any risk at all that's coming from the

person who was surrounded by a throng of people without masks at a rally in virginia. worry about that. don't worry about the ballot box. ballot boxes are safe. >> doctor, i appreciate having you here. thank you. >> my pleasure, ana. sources telling cnn that trump is expected to speak about an emergency use authorization for the use of quarters essant plasma to treat covid-19. we'll bring it to you live. stay with us. have merged. now t-mobile has thousands more locations across the country. more towers and more coverage than ever before. t-mobile is america's largest 5g network. with more 5g coverage than verizon and at&t combined. experience it now with our best deal ever. unlimited for $25 dollars a line for four lines with 5g access included.

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welcome back. the spotlight now on republicans c learning that president trump is expected to make an appearance every night this week, including at tomorrow's roll call vote in charlotte, north carolina. that's where we have cnn's ryan

nobles joining us live. give us a taste of what we can expect. >> reporter: we are here in charlotte where it's expected to kick off. this is not nearly the party they expected to hold the planners have been forced to stop and short. they initially moved all the festivities to jacksonville, but those plans westbound stymied because of a rise iing number o infections and the threatening weather, so a bulk of what's happening will happen in washington, d.c., including an acceptance of the nom nation from the white house luge 678 delegates are here, and the

president is expected to travel here with vice president pence tomorrow to thank those delegates and begin this process of the convention. what we're waiting to see is how the republican hold this all together. president trump himself has set high expectations for how he wants this to be pull off. what we are expecting we'll also seem think stoking the culture wars. including a man who got into a confrontation with native americans. and we'll have from the couple from st. louis, who was out in their front yard waving firearms as black lives matter protesters went by.

this is the campaign coordinating president trump to a second term. every night of 9 week we'll hear from president trump and from someone from his family. this is about the trump family, and president trump as he wins this nomination with the goal of winning a second term in the white house. ana? >> ryan nobles, thank you for that preview. speaking of family, on the eve of the republican national who is slamming the president, calling him cruel, among many other shocks things. >> the tweeting and the lying, you know, 9 lack of preparation, 9 lying, the hole [ bleep ]. >> the president's sister was secretly recorded there by their

niece mary trump. at the "the washington post" was first to report on this audio. mary trump has recently released a scathing book about the trump family. the president, who is also mourning the loss of his brother responded with this -- every day it's something else. who cares. i miss ply brother and i will continue to work hard for the american people. not everyone agrees, but the results are obvious. joining us now is april ryan, white house correspond for american urban radio networks, and david gergen, a former divorce -- adviser to several presidents. do you think this will deracket from rallies voter enthusiasm? >> the president, who likes to invent distractions must ahead this one, because it's so person

and vicious. this came from her gut. she now him better than almost everybody else i do think it's going to hurt some, but i think he has bigger challenges -- there are a lot of things look. >> donald trump is the donald, period. when he started to say something to me, well, look at what i've done for you, and i have had, you have done nothing.

deliberately. i have never asked him for a favor since 1981, when i was being highly considered to go on the federal court, on my own merit. >> april, do you think hearing a tape like this resonates with voters at all? >> most leavely, who knows you best but your family, and this is his sister. two, she's a federal judge. she even has receipts about who up possibly did those s.a.t. exams, or college for him. this is damning, but the question is, can he overshado what maryanne trump barry is saying and the booic that mary trump has written? i think he's trying to ov

overshadow this, trying to deflect from what his sister said, and also by being on the convention every night. is it ego or trying to rally the base to extort him yet again? or both david, we are learn trump et cetera team has been working on a nomination speech. so i want to remind you of what the mt. rushmore speech was like. >> the goal is not a better america. the goal is to end america. >> in its how does that compare?

>> i think he wants to have it both ways. we're being held hostage by the socialists. i think joe biden dispend most of that but it's really important. he can't just say how term things are. that's why he's got these every

night. democrats heavily lean 57% of republicans polled called the death of more than 76,000 deaths acceptable. april, how can that be? >> i've said this over and over

again, it's not about people the numbers are rising. the reason why anyone who supports this is because he's dismissive of it. the main reason is you won't hear it in this convention of hate is because this 79 doesn't want to own it, but he owns this, been front and center he owns this. he mass blood on his hands from herman cain to the two friends at the church i attend who are dead. when he has people dying, and he still doesn't have a handle on a pandemic that he didn't deal

with adequately, and it's not acceptable. >> thank you both. >> can i just -- thank you. >> thank you so much. we'll have you back soon, as you know. with the khemmic national convention behind us, it's the republicans' turn. we're covering the important moments, and of course president trump. it begins tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. coming up, let's take a live look at the briefing room. they are gearing up for an announcement. the president is expected to speak any moment now. is it really the major breakthrough the white house says it is? don't go anywhere. hike!

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breaking news, we are just learning the fda has officially issued an emergency use authorization, and we are awaiting president trump, who is said to give a press difference any minute now. let's go to dr. sanjay gupta. ivity to warn you, i mach to interrupt you. is this what it's touted to be? sanjay, hold on. we've got to get your mic working. >> can you hear me, ana?

i don't think we can say that. >> they said there wasn't clear enough i'm saying over the last couple days, it wasn't that compelling. i don't know of data that's been submitted or certainly not analyzed. i've talked to several sources that they haven't either.

now we have the president. >> good tows you all. and yesterday i approved a major disaster declaration for california, as they battle two of the worst wildfires in the history of their state. that continues. the federal government has already deployed over 26,000, and we're working very closely with the governor and closely with a lot of state representatives with his we

grieve for the families of two first responders, and five residents who have tragically lost their lives. it's been a very horrific fire. my admarch is closely monitoring marco. and tropical storm laura. this is what unprecedented, the scope of the storms and the fact that they come so quickly after one another, and could cause significant darnell across the gulf koecoast and also in puert

rico. we have everyone stationed and ready to go. we have tremendous people fema is lined up. the coast guard is ready. they do such good would work. i'm skulls all americans to following the instruction. and for louisiana. fema is mobilized and ready to help. i spoke to governor john wells also, and informed him, and at his request also signed and ready to go. we have everything ready, and also for the forest fires. we have a great team.

unfortunately we have some very, very powerful natural disasters. on the therapeutics front, this is what i've been looking to do for a long time. i'm pleased to make an historic announcement. the fda has issued an emergency use authorization, and that's such a powerful term, emergency use authorization for a treatment known as convalescent plasma. this is a powerful therapy that transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients. it's had an incredible rate of success. today's action will expand access to this treatment.

i want to thank dr. hahn, secretary azar, everyone who 'been working -- this is the only possible -- and only made possible because of the operation warp speed. we're years ahead of approval, so if we went by the speed levels of past administration, that includes vaccines that you'll be hearing about very soon, very shortly, to delivers treatments and vaccine, we're removing unnecessary barriers and delays, not by cutting corners, but by marshaling the full power of the federal government. we funded the mayo stuffy, through this study over 100,000

americans have already enrolled, and it's proven to reduce mortality. that's a tremendous number. several have also found convalescent plasma to be a very effective method of fighting this horrible disease. based on the science and the data the fda has made the independent determination that the treatment is safe and very effective. recently we provided up to $270 million to the american red cross and america's blood centers to support the collection of up to 360,000 units of plasma. in late july we launched a nationwide campaign to ask patients, who have recovered d. and these are paitious who have been incredible.

today i once again urge all americans who have recovered to -- and sign up for plasma today, please. it's been ahn incredible i'll go over the numbers. but the united states has experienced the lowest case of fatality rate of any major country in the world. you don't hear that. the european union's case fatality rate is estimated to be three times higher than the u.s. i just want to ask two of our

people who have done a fantastic job, alex azar and stephen hhahn. the results have been incredible. >> well, thank you very much, mr. president. thanks for the bold leadership that allowed us to deliver this very happy news today. america has done more than any other country to expand the arsenal that we have, and thanks to early efforts by your administration, americans have broader access to these treatments including convalescent plasma than patients anywhere else. early in our fight, the fda, barta, the mayo clinic and other

partners sprang into action. president trump is the right-to-try president. quasi-lessant plasma has been a tried-and-true method, but this fda authorization is one result of that effort. within three days of being diagnosed with plasma containing high levels of antibodies benefited the most. we saw about a 35% better survival in the patients who benefited most from the treatments, under 80, not on artificial respiration. i don't want you to gloss over this number. we dream in drug development of something like a 35% mortality

reduction. this is a major advance in the treatment of patients. it's a major advantage. equation lessant plasma is one new tool we have added to our arsenal against covid-19 lookside remdesivir, steroids and a number of other promises options. because of up's operation warp speed, we expect new options reaching patients as soon as this fall. it's supporting experimental therapeutic all the what to -- if they immediate fda's gold standard, they can reach patients without a day wasted. americans who have tested positive for, can go to coronavirus.gov to find a quick, veep way to play a potentially

lifesaving part. so that thank you, again, mr. president for supporting this and i want for thank the entire team with the fda with the speed they approached this. it's going to be here today. from the beginning of this pandemic, the paechbd has asked fda to cut back red tape and i just want to echo the president's thanks to more than 17,000 men and women who work at fda. they have worked day and night to in fact do that. so plasma is the liquid portion of the blood.

that liquid portion contains the natural immunity that someone develops in response to an infection. >> negligence kay covid-19. many years and the president and the secretary said, has been given to patients with infectious diseases for many years. so there was good rationale so why this might work. an expanded access program was started at the mayo clinic with the support of the federal government under president trump's leadership. that has gone on -- close to 100,000 americans have enrolled in this program. over 70,000 have received treatment. this is one of the largest expanded access programs in the history of fda, so very successful approach to evaluating how convalescent plasma and how tell worm.

now just the daughter, but more than a dozens published studies, as well as the historical experience, those scientists have concluded that it is safe, and shows promising efficacy, thereby meeting the criteria for an in the optimal patients, treated with convalescent plasma, there was a 35% improvement in survival, which is a significant clinical benefit. we're waiting for data. we're going to continue to gather data. so as a cancer doctor, before i game fda commissioners and 35% improvement in survival is a form substantial -- if the data

continues to pan out, 100 people who are sick, 35 would have been saved because of the administration of the plasma. we have seen a great of demand for this from doctors around the country and this allows to continue that. i want to echo the ask of the american people if you have recovered, please donate. it could save a live. mr. president, thank you again. >> reporter: i wanted to ask you about face three. will they be available to the american population? we talk previously about this right to try i'm not sure a lot

of people have been thinking about right to try. maybe i could ask stephen, but i would say that right to try is exactly -- if somebody is virtually terminal, if they're not going to make it and we have this incredible therapies and drugs, i think it's an interesting decree. we have these seemingly greet answers. can we use this i remembery? >> and, of course, it all phelps on the clinical circumstances and what a doctor and patient together decide, but if you think about what happened with convalescent plasma, which is exactly what happened.

we knew that was great demand, it's a way of actually dos that and fits perfectly with what the president just said. >> you should get credit for that. >> reporter: the treatment has been around for years. you mentioned operation warp speed. what went into the effort for this to be approved to covid-19, and was that political in nature? >> i think there maeve a holdup, but we broke the logjam the last few weeks.

actually in your larger department who can see things being held up. it's my very strong pins. this has nothing to do with politics. the -- we are being very strong and forthright. we have some incredible answers, every day is lives. we're not going to let that happen, okay? you have the treatment is safe and very effective, yesterday it was showing promising efficacy, so which of the two is correct? >> i think i'll let the doctor answer that. >> under our legal authority -- this is not the same as an approval, but it's an authorization. it allows us to expand the access to this.

we knew that for all of our emergency use authorizations. remdesivir, which was authorized on may 1st, we're still collecting data, and we will continue to do that with plasma as well. it's the nuances of the language. >> it's a promising treatment, you can't say it's very effective just yet. >> if you're one of those 35 out of 100 people who these data suggests or show a result of it, this is pretty significant for that person other family. rvrp thank you. the announcement from the president of the united states that the food and drug administration has issued what's called an emergency use authorization, insists its potentially promising as a covid

treatment for those patients already in the hospital. the president insisting this is an historic day, a very significant development, he says he's very pleased, very, very happy we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." dr. sanjay gupta is with us. you were listening to the precise words, what the president said and what the two experts alex azar and dr. stephen hahn had to say. what is your reaction? is this a huge breakthrough? >> well, it was a little confusing, wolf, to be honest. i don't think this is a huge breakthrough in the sense that as dr. hahn mentioned this convalescent plasma has been

available and used under the expanded access programs so this is a therapy out there and correctly as mentioned has been used to treat every infectious diseases. the confusing part is as you know a couple days ago the fda put the brakes on an emergency use authorization, looking at the same data that came out of the mayo clinic and there wasn't a lot of randomized trials. right? you put some people in a group and they get the medication, another group of similar people don't get the med kaeication an compare them. if you don't randomize control, you don't know. we still don't have that data. what confused me, wolf, they said put the brakes on it but today it's full steam ahead with the emergency use authorization. sources on the task force said

they haven't seen any new data and what inspired the significant change in a couple of days from no emergency use authorization to going forward on a sunday night. we need that data, wolf. >> it was interesting because earlier in the week i think last week or so "the new york times" reporting, sanjay, i'm sure you read the article, i have it here, experts from the coronavirus task force including dr. collins, the head of the national institutes of health, dr. fauci, dr. clifford lane of nih also, they stepped in to argue because there was this debate going on at the fda, they stepped in to argue that the emerging data on the treatment was simply too weak to go forward with this announcement and now all of a sudden the president and alex azar and stephen hahn going forward with it and raising questions.

further questions is the tweet the president just posted yesterday. let me read it again because it's disturbing what the president said about the food and drug administration. the deep state or whoever over at the fda is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. obviously they hope to delay the answer until after november 3rd. must focus on speed and saving lives and tagged dr. stephen hahn and raising all sorts of questions about the potential political impact of this decision just announced by the president. >> yeah. that's exactly right, wolf. that's the thing i think as medical reporters to grapple with, looking at the evidence saying here is the evidence that you were looking at. now it's sunday night. was there new evidence

submitted? wolf, there are observational studies. tens of thousands of people use this and observe it to say these people over here if they get it within three days, if they're not on a ventilator, under the age of 80 seem to be doing better but not the sort of data that's typically the standard by which you make the authorizations. you want to have some evidence that it is working because you randomize patients. wasn't that they got steroids or another treatment. you want to make sure that it was the convalescent plasma itself working. i can tell you again talking to sources close to the task force they didn't see any new data. you mentioned dr. collins, dr. fauci. i don't know if anybody else on the task force saw the data over the last few days and this is a nuanced point but once you issue the emergency use authorization it is going to make it more challenging to actually do the

randomized trials. why? because everybody then obviously wants this plasma. so how do you then streparate people into groups to get it and not get it? so, you know, it is going to be in the sort of gray area with no clear evidence that it actually works. >> so basically, the bottom line is that this is not a huge breakthrough. sort of promising in the sense that they have been testing this and we shouldn't necessarily accept the words of the president that this is going to -- the cure a lot of people who are hospitalized for covid-19 right now? >> yeah. i think the point is that there's tens of thousands of people who have gotten it. we have an authorization and now people can get it. they could have received this. there's been tens of thousands of people, i think over 70,000 people dr. hahn mentioned that

received it so this emergency use authorization doesn't make it available to people that wasn't available. the second part of it is, okay, do we have evidence that it works? and you heard based on o observational people under the age of 80 that receive this quickly within 34 days seem to have decreased in mortality, 35%, that sounds very promising certainly but that's not the sort of data upon which the fda typically relies. they want to know, yes, good that 35% of the people reduction in mortality but was it the plasma that did that or something else? this is a basic question. wolf, everybody wants to be hopeful but the idea that you have to prove that it works so that people aren't making their bets on something that ul ultimately doesn't work or taking their eyes off the ball

on something that could be much more beneficial, that's the issue here. this is a confusing story. we don't have the data. a week ago, a few days ago there wasn't the data. the fda said not ready. a few days later all of a sudden presumably looking at the same data they say move forward with a uae and it is not going to do anything to make it available to more people because it was available to tens of thousands of people. >> the emergency use authorization. eua. it is not approved, this is just basically going ahead with more testing of this convalescent plasma to see if it works, they have to do more testing and dr. hahn of the fda himself said from looking at the notes this is not the same as approval. we are still collecting data. so when the president says, this has nothing to do with politics, this is life or death, what's your reaction to that?

>> it is where dr. hahn is well within the right, fda well within the right to issue an emergency use authorization and they have done it for other things. they did it for hydroxychloroquine as you know and subsequently rescinded that emergency use authorization and other therapeutics and types of tests, coronavirus tests. i think that the idea that you could say -- i guess the question is this, wolf. can you say for sure right now that this stuff works? there's a lot of promise around it, encouraging and why you study it. that much is true. but then you want to get the results of the studies to be able to make statements like some of the ones you just heard. i don't think you can say things definitively. people will take away it cuts mortality by 35%. i wish i could say that definitively but that data at least i haven't seen it.

the people on the coronavirus task force haven't seen it so maybe the fda is looking at new data over the last 24, 48 hours? perhaps. that would be great. but keep in mind as well, wolf, once you issue the eua it is harder to collect data, to randomize people. who will say i want to go to a trial if i can just go ahead and get this stuff? who's going do say i'd rather be potentially in the placebo group? nobody. that makes it harder to collect the data needed to get that approval. this is nuanced and a lot baked into this but it's hugely important. this is going to come up again and again, especially with regard to a vaccine. what is going to be the bar at which these emergency use authorizations are granted and are they going to be adequate? >> because they did say secretary azar that this

convalescent plasma treatment joins remdesivir and steroids. they're considered much more effective in dealing with this at least for now? hydroxychloroquine was approved for emergency use and rescinded by the fda much to the president's dislike. >> right. the way to i think sort of characterize this is quality of evidence around remdesivir is a much higher quality of evidence. randomized prospective control trials meaning that they said we'll start this study and look going forward as opposed to looking at data backwards. we are going to truly randomize people. either get the placebo or the therapy. people don't know which they got oftentimes and we are going to be controlled meaning that you didn't get the plasma and steroids because that would make that group look better. we want to make sure that